M4A2 Direct Vision Early Hull
for Dragon M4 Sherman Kits

Review by Stephen 'Tank Whisperer' Brezinski - sbrez(at)suscom-maine(dot)net
Edited by Rob Haelterman

It makes sense that a nice hull of this early M4A2 tank variant should drop into my lap just a week after I completed a challenging conversion of a UM plastic M4 to an M4A2 with direct vision (DV).

At this time this is a new line of 1/72-scale Sherman conversions, designed around the excellent M4 kits from Dragon Models Limited (DML). Most other resin Sherman conversions in this scale are based on the venerable but obsolescent ESCI M4A1 kit, which has many detail problems. UM offers a styrene plastic M4 kit that with work can be converted to an early M4A2 but its quality of detail is surpassed by this resin hull.

The description on the label states that it is for the Dragon Beutepanzer Sherman kits. I think this is too limiting for the conversion kit, as the hull should be able to be used with any of DML’s M4A2 and Sherman III lower hulls and low-bustle turret as the VVSS suspension and lower hulls are the same. This upper hull may also be used with DML’s M4 or M4A1 Sherman kits as the suspension is the same though the lower hull’s bottom plate will have different access hatches.

My preference is to use this upper hull with the Trumpeter M4 Early kit #7223. This Trumpeter kit comes with an incorrect upper hull glacis but otherwise has good detail so for me makes a good donor kit for parts. The Dragon hulls are just too nice to put in the parts box.

There are no written instructions for this conversion kit but it is so basic I do not believe instructions are needed.

This scan shows the two cast resin parts in the conversion. Casting looks very good with no defects or air bubbles. Handtools are cast onto the engine deck like DML had done.

At left is the rear engine plate with the characteristic twin exhausts for the M4A2’s two diesel engines.
At right is the welded M4A2 hull with characteristic engine grill, smaller than that on the M4A3 tank. The turret ring and the two driver hatches have a thin film of resin that should be easy to cut away so driver figures can be added.

On the glacis we see the two rounded driver’s hoods with the direct vision visors. These openable visors were found to be weak spots so appliqué armor plates were later fitted over these visors at the factory and in field workshops. Accurate looking weld seams are visible around the hoods and the armor plates. References shows that there could be additional weld seams on the glacis. This early 57 degree glacis was made from one to five smaller flat plates welded around the two hoods so no wonder the cast hull was much less labor to produce.

This kit hull appears to have been manufactured by Baldwin Locomotive Works based on features like the horseshoe shaped radio pot on the glacis.

For comparison here we have the 72nd Brigade M4A2 direct vision (DV) hull next to a plastic DML M4A2 hull. Looking closely we see the differences between the DV hoods at left and the cast steel hoods without DV at right. A periscope in front of the hatch replaced the DV. We can also see some variation in the glacis radio pot.
The 57 degree glacis of the M4A2 could be produced from three to five individual armor plates welded together around the hoods. 72nd Brigade depicts theirs as a single armor plate with weld seams around the hood parts.

As shown above, the Trumpeter lower hull from kit 7223, which is slide-molded as one piece like the Dragon lower hull is. It is pretty much ready to drop into the 72nd Brigade upper hull conversion 7201. A little length off the sponson floor could perhaps be trimmed. The big drawback to the Trumpeter hull is that the 3-piece bolted differential cover, the nose, has no bolts depicted. (Note: The M4A2 underside, or belly, is different from the M4’s belly, this could be important to you for a display model.)

Building Tips
I don’t intend to tell you how to assemble your Sherman, but some tips for a more historically accurate M4A2 with DV are to use the earlier “fancy” style of sprocket, five spoke open or six-spoke solid roadwheels, not the late-style dished roadwheels
The differential cover (the nose of the hull) should be the early bolted three-piece type or the mid-style one-piece rounded type. There could be exceptions as tanks were rebuilt and repaired.
This early M4A2 conversion hull should not be used with the HVSS bogies, with the T23 turret with the 76-mm gun, nor with the 105-mm howitzer armed turret. The turret should be the low bustle type with split hatch commander cupola. It is unlikely to have a high bustle turret.
We can convert this to a mid-production M4A2 by adding applique armor plates to the driver’s hoods and the hull sides.

References

• M4A2 Sherman Part 1, Armor Photogallery #11, by Wojciech Gawrych, Model Centrum Progress
• Sherman Minutia website
• http://www.detailmaniacs.com/
• http://www.ebay.com/sch/72ndbrigade/m.html?_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1

Article Last Updated: 21 January 2013